Vampire Knight: Redemption

Most Prized Posessions

Chapter 3 (Ashley)

Normally I watched the Night Class cross-over, since it was an entertaining affair to say the least, but today I stood at the school's gate. Finally, after a month at Cross Academy, I was finally going to visit Arrowits. "I'll be back by Tuesday." I told Nanami, who looked like she was about to cry.

"I'll miss you." Nanami replied. I smiled, not sure what to say to her, and then heard the roar of an engine.

"That's my ride." I turned and hurried down the steps, taking them almost two at a time. Waiting at the bottom was a man dressed in almost all black: the exception was his blue wolf-like helmet.

"Hey, Blackie." He said with a charming smile as he took off his helmet.

"Ah, Blue!" I hugged him and he laughed though I could tell he was being careful not to fall over.

"Shall we go?" He asked, gesturing to the seat behind him. I nodded eagerly and he handed me my helmet: a black version of his own.

I slipped it on and mounted the blue motorcycle behind him. We shot off and I wrapped my arms around his waist. "So, how's school?" He asked through the microphones in our helmets.

"Don't ask." I replied.

"That bad? Well, for this weekend at least, you aren't a student, you're a Wolf." He said and I squeezed him.

"Oh, I need that." I replied and he laughed.

"Shall we meet up with the others?" He asked.

I wished he could see my face. "Seriously? Do you need to ask?"

"Got it. Hold on." He gunned the engine and we shot off towards Arrowits. There were few people I would trust to do this, but Blue was definitely one of them.

Blue, who's real name was Parker, didn't head to our usually playground: instead he drove me to an abandoned construction site. Waiting was the other three members of the gang; Red or Reilly Heart, Green or Brandon Heart, and Yellow or Cody Welsh.

"Hey." I called as I got off Parker's bike. I took my helmet off in one fluid motion, a huge smile on my face.

"Our alpha's home. Welcome back." Brandon said, bowing his head to me. The others did the same and I sighed.

"Seriously, don't bow. It's weird. And anyway, why are we here instead of our usually riding grounds?" I questioned.

"Because this place is amazing. Take a ride and you'll know what we mean." Reilly tossed me my keys and I ran my finger over the black wolf keychain, the only keychain attached. My black bike was hiding behind the boys and I ran my hand over the seat before I mounted.

I looked at my boys and rolled my keys in my hand before I started my bike in a fluid motion. "Well, are you coming or not?" I asked. I slid my helmet cleanly onto my head, flipped the face shield down, and rode into the site with the boys close behind.

They were right: the construction site had a little bit of everything and I was throughly enjoying myself. By the time we stopped it was already dark. "Oh. I should probably go home, huh..." I muttered when I noticed how dark it was.

"Probably." Cody agreed.

I sighed and settled my resolve. "Okay, then I'm heading home, but lets meet up tomorrow, here." I said.

"You got it." Brendan replied.

"Deal." Reilly agreed.

"See you then." Parker added.

I sighed, not wanting to go, but I hit the accelerator and shot towards my house. We lived on the far side of town, about a half hour drive from end to end. Our house was reasonably sized, with the backyard stretching right up to a forest and surprising no fence.

The front porch light was on, as were the lights in the kitchen and in my parents bedroom upstairs. I let out a breath and parked in the shed in the back. After that I moved to the front door and knocked. It opened quickly and there stood my mom.

"Ashley, you're home!" She cried excitedly. I smiled.

"For the weekend." I added.

"Yes of course. School is important." She said, but I knew she was just trying to convince herself that was true. Her tone was disappointed.

"Is dad here?" I asked to change the subject.

"Yes, he is. Drew, Ashley is home." Mother called upstairs. Shortly after my dad came down in a rush and a huge smile appeared on its face when he saw me.

"Ashley, you're home." He said. I nodded slowly and shifted my feet.

"For the weekend." I repeated, feeling a bit like a broken record. Or a therapist, I wasn't sure which. "But it's nice to see you."

"Come in, come in. I wasn't going to make dinner, but if you're hungry..." Mother offered.

"I'm fine." I replied. The house looked exactly the same as I remembered it from when I was little. After receiving a letter from Cross Academy while living in America my parents moved us back to Japan, to the same house I had liven in as a child.

Well, I hadn't lived there my entire childhood but I didn't remember anything before that. With the exception of a short period of time that I had spent living with Prince I had lived here, with the two people I called my parents. Though it was entirely possible I was just imagining it I had never felt that they were actually my parents.

I glanced at the walls to get my mind back on track and found myself looking at the pictures on the walls. Plenty of me and my parents, but none where I was younger than five or six. Mother had put up some new pictures, from our time living in America.

One that made me smile was at the foot of the stairs: me, mother, and father all together at a beach along with some of my American friends. I brushed the glass lightly with my fingers then hurried up the steps to my bedroom. I still had one more thing to do before I went to bed.